My Way
by hbmom
Summary: Complete! Things just aren't going Joe's way after he is passed over for a role in the school play. Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with the Hardy Boys. I am just borrowing them for this story.
1. Chapter 1

Joe leapt up, caught the football perfectly thrown by Frank, tucked it under his arm and ran as fast as he could, dodging his team mates. He was within ten yards of the goal line and no one was in front of him. "Touchdown for Hardy, finally something going my way," he thought.

That's when the hit came. Biff and Chet, who were on the other team for the scrimmage, had been scrambling to stop Joe before he scored. Biff came from behind with a flying tackle which took Joe down at an angle and slammed his shoulder into the ground. Chet came plowing through less than a second later and landed right on top of Biff and Joe.

Chet quickly pushed himself up, reached out for Biff's hand, and pulled him off of Joe. Biff in turn put his hand out to Joe ready to pull him up. "Awesome catch Joe. Too bad you just weren't a little faster…Joe?" Joe hadn't moved.

After seeing the tackle, Frank ran down the field to get into place for the next play. As he approached Biff, he saw the worried look on his face and quickly dropped down next to his brother. "Joe? Can you hear me?" he said urgently.

The coach came running over and knelt down by Joe. "Move back, boys. Give him some room to breath." Everyone obeyed the coach except Frank, who the coach knew wouldn't leave Joe regardless. So he didn't even try to push it.

"Hardy, can you hear me?" the coach said.

Joe opened his eyes, blinked and moaned. "What Mac truck just hit me?"

Frank gave a sigh of relief. Joe wasn't hurt too badly.

The coach looked into his eyes which were dilating normally and held up three fingers, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," Joe replied through gritted teeth, rubbing his shoulder. "The same number you always hold up."

"Well that hard head of yours is good for something Joe. What's wrong with your shoulder?" Frank said as he reached out to help Joe sit up.

Joe was holding his arm close to his body. "It's okay. I just slammed it into the ground when I was hit."

"Man, I didn't mean to hit you so hard Joe," Biff said.

"Don't worry about it. It's football, that's the way it goes. Help me up so we can finish the game," Joe said as reached out for Biff's hand. Biff pulled him to his feet, and he quickly grabbed his shoulder as pain seared through it from the movement.

"Joe, you're through for today," the coach said as he observed Joe's movements. "I want you to go in and have the nurse look at you shoulder. We have our big game against Southport in a few weeks and you need to be in good shape for it," the coach said. "Chet you can walk him in."

Chet and Joe walked slowly away from the field towards the school. Chet watched as Joe kept rubbing his shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay Joe?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little ice and a hot shower should do it," he said though the pain was getting worse.

"Well, if you had gotten the part in the school play you tried out for, you'd be fine right now rehearsing in the air conditioning. I really think you should have got the part, your audition was great," Chet said.

"Thanks. It wasn't good enough though…It's not a big deal," Joe said his voice strained with a little disappointment and more than a little pain. They reached the door to the gym and walked to the nurse's office.

Chet waited outside the door as Joe was checked over. Twenty minutes later, Joe came out with an ice pack. "See, I told you. Ice it tonight and tomorrow as much as possible and it should be ready to go for practice by tomorrow afternoon," Joe said.

The nurse poked her head out of the doorway, "I said we'll have to see if it's ready tomorrow. And I also said that if the swelling doesn't go down by this evening, you need to see your doctor before you can play again. Remember? Are you sure your head is okay?"

"Yes Mrs. White. I got it. And my head is fine, thank you," Joe said more than a little frustrated as he and Chet walked towards the locker rooms to shower and change.

Joe and Chet joined the others in the locker room. After a concerned look from Frank, Joe said, "I'm fine Frank. The nurse just told me to ice it. I'll be good as new for practice tomorrow." Joe turned and headed to the showers.

When Joe was out of earshot, Chet turned to Frank and said, "If the swelling doesn't go down by this evening Joe has to see his doctor before he can play again."

"Thanks Chet. It's nice to get the full story. I'll make sure that he takes care of it," Frank said. Turning back to his locker his said almost to himself, "Sometimes I wish he would just tell me everything."

"What do you mean Frank? I thought Joe always told you everything. Are you worried about him?" Chet said quietly.

Frank looked around and most of the boys were in the showers. "Well, I think not getting the part in the play upset him, but he won't really talk about it. And he's been moody for the last two weeks since he found out."

"Yeah I mentioned the play in passing on our way in and it didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it," Chet said.

"I don't think he could really be that upset about it though. That doesn't seem like Joe," said Frank.

"I know Frank, but he usually jokes about things and he seems sort of moody about this. You may want to ask him about it just to see if he's okay," Chet said as he picked up his things for the shower.

"Well, he just changed the subject the last time I tried to talk to him about it. Maybe it's worth another attempt," Frank thought as he followed Chet to the showers.

When Frank was ready to go, Joe was sitting on the bench holding a now slightly melted bag of ice on his shoulder.

"Has the swelling gone down any yet?" Frank asked.

"I can't tell. I'll have to look at it when we get home," Joe said a little abruptly. His shoulder was hurting. It was the same one he had dislocated a while back and he really didn't want to re-injure it. He was not going to miss that Southport game. Nor was he going to give Frank the chance to know how much it hurt since he would likely spend the rest of the evening in the doctor's office getting x-rays.

Maybe Joe is just hurting, or maybe Chet's right and there is more to him being moody then just his shoulder, Frank thought, resolving to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

When Frank and Joe arrived home, Joe grabbed more ice and trudged up to his room. He had to get this homework done. He knew during the fall, with all of the sports, if he fell behind on his homework it was all over. He also didn't want his mom fussing over him. He looked in the mirror at his shoulder. The bruising was worse than when he was in the nurse's office and it was still swollen and getting stiff.

"Oh great, this is just what I need," Joe said to his reflection. The phone rang downstairs and a few minutes later it rang again.

A second later, Frank poked his head in Joe's door to tell him that Vanessa was on the phone. As soon as his eyes landed on Joe's shoulder though he let out a low whistle. "Man you got nailed didn't you? Your shoulder looks terrible. It looks pretty swollen."

"Did you just come in here to harass me about my shoulder," Joe said then gasped sharply when he tried to get his arm back in his sleeve.

Frank watched for a second as Joe struggled to get his shirt on without moving his arm much. "Here let me help," he said as he reached out and gingerly pulled his shirt on.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Vanessa is on the phone for you," Frank said as he turned and left Joe's room.

Joe answered the phone, "Hey Ness. What's up?"

"How was practice?"

"It was fine. I think the team is finally coming together. We should be ready for the Southport game."

"Great! I wouldn't miss seeing you play in that game for anything! I was wondering, if you have time tomorrow after school could you come to the auditorium and help me hang up some of the backdrops I've created for the play? I really want to see them from a distance, but I can't put them up myself."

"Anything for you Ness. It will have to be after practice though," Joe added his voice somewhat strained from pain.

"Joe, are you upset about not getting a part in the play? If so, I understand if you don't want to come and help with the setup," Vanessa said. She had been trying to figure out if he had really been bothered by not making it.

Just then Joe heard his mom calling up from the kitchen, "Joseph, come down here please. I want to see this shoulder of yours."

"Thanks a lot Frank," Joe thought.

To Vanessa he said, "Look Vanessa, I can't talk about this now. I have to go. See you tomorrow," he hung up quickly before his mom got really upset.

"I'm fine Mom," Joe said as he walked into the kitchen and he ran his hand through his blond hair making a jumbled mess.

"I'll be the judge of that. And next time you're hurt at practice will you just tell me? I would prefer not to be the last to know," Laura said.

As Joe started to shoot Frank a nasty look across the kitchen table, Laura added, "Mrs. White called to see how you were doing and I had no idea what she was talking about."

Joe looked back at Frank and mouthed "Sorry."

"Oh Joe, this is the same shoulder you hurt before and the bruising looks terrible. I'm calling the doctor and see if he can get you in tonight," Laura said.

"If I have to," Joe said resignedly.

Later that evening, Frank was driving Joe home from the doctors. Laura had had a meeting to attend that she couldn't miss. She made Frank promise that he would listen to what the doctor had to say and tell her to make sure she got the real version, not the sugar-coated one Joe had been giving recently.

Frank knew Joe was steamed. The doctor told him he would have to miss practice for the rest of the week. "That's four days Frank! Today is only Monday! Coach Brown is going to be furious," Joe said when he got in the car.

"He'll understand Joe. You have a shoulder separation. If you don't rest it now, it will never get better. The Southport game isn't this weekend anyway. Just let your shoulder heal so you can catch those passes I throw your way," Frank said.

The next morning Frank insisted on carrying Joe's bag to his locker. Vanessa was at her locker at the far end of the row and heard Frank say, "I'm not babying you Joe. Your shoulder is hurt and you shouldn't be lugging these books around. Just relax and let me help."

"I'm sorry I've been so difficult Frank," Joe said. "I had in my mind what this fall would be like at school and it's just not working out that way at all."

"Well if you want to talk about it, just let me know. I'll even buy the pizza," Frank said with a smile as he walked away.

Just then Vanessa came up to Joe and looked him up and down. "Did Frank say you were hurt?"

"I got hit at football practice and hurt my shoulder. I'm out for at least this week," Joe said a little bitterly.

"Joseph Hardy, why didn't you tell me last night? Are you okay? What's wrong?" she asked with hardly a breath.

"Don't worry, Ness. I have a separated shoulder. It sounds worse than it is," he assured her. "I just have to ice it and go easy on it and it will heal fine. I guess this means that I can come right after school to help you with hanging up the scenery."

"Joe, you don't have to come and help me. I'm sure some of the guys in the play can do it," she said thinking about his arm.

"Ness, I said I would come and help, and I will." He turned his attention back to his the backpack he was packing. He mumbled to himself, "Where is my little notebook? It's been missing now for over a week and I really need to find it."

He had been using the notebook to write down his random thoughts as well as all of the plans for the surprise party he was planning for Vanessa and his ideas for birthday and Christmas presents for Frank. Joe really wanted to find it even though it didn't contain anything too personal.

"Okay Joe, then I'll wait for you in the auditorium after school," Vanessa said as she grabbed his backpack. "Let's go before we're late."

The day passed slowly as days in school often do. Finally the end of the school day came, and Joe headed towards his locker to pack up. Frank stopped by on his way to practice and said, "Joe, you're staying, right? I don't think you should be driving."

Joe sighed, "I know Frank. I'm staying. I'll be in the auditorium helping Vanessa with the scenery for the play. Come and get me when you guys are all done."

Joe headed off to the auditorium to meet up with Vanessa. "Hey Ness, what do we need to get done first."

"Well, they are using the stage right now for rehearsal, so we need to stay off of it until they take a break. We do need to push some of the costume boxes out of the dressing room in the back. And get the ladders in place so we can hang up the scenery when they are done."

Joe helped Vanessa push boxes, thankfully light, around for the better part of an hour and they got the two twelve foot ladders in place for later. She had just left to get them both a soda from the machine in the lobby, when Joe decided to watch the rehearsal from the wings.

He was disappointed that he didn't get a part in the play, but realistically, he knew that he wouldn't have wanted to miss football this season and the coach would not let him out of all of the practices so he could attend rehearsals. "Sometimes," he thought, "things work out for the best anyway."

As he walked towards the wings, his foot pushed under the heavy folds of curtain and struck something small. He bent down to pick it up and realized in the semidarkness that it was a familiar little notebook. He smiled triumphantly and thought, "What luck! I thought I had lost this thing for good. I must have dropped it during the auditions." He quickly put it in his pocket and continued to watch the play.


	3. Chapter 3

After watching the rehearsal for a few more minutes, Joe turned to walk around the back of the stage behind the curtain to see if Vanessa was back yet. Just then he heard a scream rip through the air followed by a loud crash. He came through the wings onto the stage just in time to see the ladder he had set up laying on the floor having narrowly missed Craig Mann, the lead in the play.

Seeing that Craig had not been hit by the ladder and was just shaken up, he turned around to go and check out the ladder. He knew he had set it up properly; there was no reason why it should have fallen.

Craig had been helped to his feet by Alan Botts, one of the boys on the stage crew. Dusting off his pants, Craig started walking towards Joe's retreating figure and angrily shouted, "Hardy, I know that was you back there with that ladder. Are you that jealous of me getting this part?"

At first Joe was shocked when he heard Craig start to shout at him. Then his anger at the accusation started to build. Just as Craig finished his rant, Joe turned towards him ready to shout back, but was caught totally unprepared by Craig's right hook that sent him crashing to the stage.

Before Joe could react, Craig was on top of him and his fist was swinging towards Joe's face again. Joe used his injured arm to block the blow and wave of pain ran through him.

Just then he heard Vanessa scream, "What is going on? Get off of him! Somebody stop Craig!"

Frank had entered the front of the auditorium just in time to see Craig hit Joe. He sprinted down the aisle and leapt up the steps to the stage. Frank grabbed Craig from behind before he could get off another punch and pulled him off of Joe.

"Someone get Craig out of here until he calms down," Frank said as he dropped to his knees by his brother. "Joe, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said through gritted teeth. "I just hurt my shoulder. I can't believe he came after me!"

Vanessa came over and helped Frank pull Joe gently to his feet. "Tell me what happened," Frank said looking at the two of them.

Vanessa and Joe took turns explaining the events leading up to the fight.

After they had finished the recount of events, Frank said, "Let's take a look at the ladder and see if there is anything we can find."

Frank looked it over thoroughly. Finally he said, "The only thing that I see is that the right hand locking mechanism was not secured. It is possible that the ladder would fall like it did without that support tightened. Who put this ladder up?"

"I did," Joe replied with a frown. "I thought I put both locking mechanisms in place though."

"Joe, it is on the right side of the ladder, the same side as your injured arm. Maybe you didn't press on it hard enough to lock into place. Are you positive it was locked when you set it up?"

"I don't know Frank. I really thought I did it. But I could be wrong," Joe said, starting to get flustered.

Frank replied soothingly, "Joe, its okay. No one got hurt. But, you really shouldn't be doing that kind of work with your shoulder anyway. You need to let it heal so that you're ready for the game."

Vanessa spoke up, "That's my fault Frank. I didn't even think that he shouldn't be doing that."

"Ness, it's not your fault. It's my fault, I probably just screwed it up," he said, involuntarily cradling his arm.

"You're right you screwed up Hardy. You had better watch yourself; coming after me was the wrong move. Not everyone here at this school thinks you can do no wrong," Craig said as he reentered the stage with Alan walking quickly behind him.

Frank noticed that Joe's face was turning red with anger. Before things could get out of hand again, Frank grabbed his good arm and said, "Forget it Joe. Let's get out of here."

As they got down off the stage, Joe said quietly, "I can't believe Craig thinks I would try to hurt him because he got the part and I didn't." He sighed, "Well at least this afternoon wasn't a total waste, while I was watching in the wings, I found my little black notebook," Joe said as he pulled it from his jacket pocket held it up for a second. "I found it in the wings under the curtains. I must have dropped it when I was auditioning."

Vanessa reached out to grab the notebook while saying, "Let me write down my new email address for you. Mom just changed internet service provide-" but she stopped in surprise as Joe jerked the notebook away.

"No!" Joe snapped. When he saw her surprised look, he added, "Sorry Ness, its private that's all."

"Okay," she said, though she thought it was strange that Joe was keeping secrets from her, but she knew she really couldn't say anything about it. She took out a sheet of paper and gave him the email address instead.

Frank finally broke the awkward silence as Joe stuffed the notebook into his jacket pocket, "I'm glad you found it Joe. Anything to keep you organized. We all know that you need all of the help you can get," Frank said with a smile. "Come on, let's go home and I'll get you some more ice for your shoulder. Practice wasn't nearly as good without you there." Frank grabbed Joe's bag as Joe said good-bye to Vanessa and they left for the van.

Joe was unusually quiet on the way home. He was lost in thought about the accident. He really hated to make mistakes, but he was human. What made it so much worse was Craig's attitude.

Frank kept glancing over at his brother. He hated when Joe was so withdrawn and it wasn't like him to speak like that to Vanessa. It just made Frank worry all the more. He had to break the silence, it was driving him crazy. "Joe, mistakes happen. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"I thought I took care of it Frank. But I guess I was wrong. Things are just not working out for me this fall. I feel like I should just crawl into bed and sleep until Christmas break."

"Joe, it's not that bad. Come on. Do you want to go and grab a pizza? I'll buy, just like I promised," Frank said. He was sure Joe could be cheered up with good trip to Mr. Pizza.

"No, I don't want to go. I'm tired and my shoulder hurts. Just take me home please," he said and then returned to looking out the window.

They drove in silence the rest of the way. When they finally got home, Joe went straight to his room and went to sleep. Frank tried unsuccessfully to wake him up enough for dinner.

When Frank came down by himself for dinner, Laura asked, "Where's your brother? Is he okay?"

"He's in his bed. He woke up enough to tell me he wasn't hungry and then went back to sleep," Frank said.

Frank decided he would just have to talk to Joe in the morning. It was unlike Joe to be in a slump and he was resolved to get him out of it.


	4. Chapter 4

Unfortunately, the next morning, Joe wasn't in much of a mood to talk either. He stirred around his breakfast and finally got up to leave when Frank picked up his bag.

When the were almost to the door, Laura said, "Frank remember you have a dentist appointment after school today, and Joe I made you an appointment to have the doctor look at your arm again since you hurt it yesterday. That appointment is at the same time as Frank's unfortunately and I won't be back in time to take you. Can you drive yourself in the van?"

"Yeah, I can manage fine," Joe said, not entirely thrilled with going back to the doctors.

Frank said, "I'll throw the motorcycle in the back of the van and I'll take it to the dentist."

Soon they were at school and Joe was packing his backpack for the day. "Shoot," he thought, "I must have left my notebook in my jacket pocket, and that's at home."

Joe made it through the day without incident, though as the people associated with the play were called out of class for pictures for the advertisements, Craig flashed Joe a nasty smile, "I know you're jealous." Craig turned and walked away followed closely by Alan.

Joe knew Alan worked backstage but couldn't think of why he would need to go. He does all of the lighting, so they must need him for the pictures, he thought. He sighed and went back to trying to focus on history though it quickly turned into daydreaming.

When the day was finally over, Joe went quickly to his locker and packed his bag. He just wanted out of there, even if that did mean going to the doctors.

Joe finally made it to the car and sat through all of the traffic caused by too many cars trying to exit the lot at the same time. Soon he was on his way.

He turned up the radio when his favorite song came on and drove along Shore Road towards the doctors. He really didn't want to see the doctor again, he had narrowly avoided getting a sling last time and he didn't want to give Dr. Bates another chance at it.

As Joe approached the turn off from Shore Road, he turned the wheel of the van to the right, but realized abruptly that the van wasn't responding well. The van was not turning quickly enough to make it around the corner.

Joe rounded the corner heading diagonally across the road and over the median, he tried frantically to pull the wheel to the left so he would be going in the right direction, but his shoulder protested. When the van's front wheels hit the gravel on the side of the road, the steering wheel was ripped from his hands and the van ran head-on into a tree.

The force of the impact caused Joe to slam into the doorframe before the airbag deployed. He saw the brilliant flash of white and then all went dark.

A small blue motorcycle pulled up beside the van. The boy made sure his motorcycle was hidden from view by the side of the van. He peeked through the van window and was relieved to see that Joe wasn't moving at all.

He opened the side door of the van and quickly located Joe's backpack. He only had a minute to find that notebook. The zipper on the backpack jammed as he tried to quickly unzip it. "Just my luck," he thought to himself. He pulled harder and the zipper ripped apart, but he could finally get inside it. He pulled everything out of the backpack, but couldn't find it.

"Nothing is going to ruin my plan. I will get revenge and he is not going to stand in my way. I will get that notebook," he mumbled as he threw everything back inside the backpack, thinking it was a good thing that Joe's bag was messy to begin with. He quietly retreated to his motorcycle and pulled away when the road was empty.

Con Riley heard the 911 call that came over the police frequency. Any time he heard mention of a black van, he cringed. The Hardys had been friends for years and he really worried about those boys. Once more, he found himself responding to a call, hoping he wouldn't have to call Fenton and Laura. When he pulled up next to the crash scene though, he knew it was not his lucky day.

Con was one of the first responders. He ran to the van and saw Joe hanging limply in his seatbelt. He checked his pulse and made sure he was breathing. So far so good, he thought. "Joe? Joe?" Con said and paused, waiting for a response. Nothing. "Come on Joe, talk to me."

"F-Frank?" Joe muttered without opening his eyes.

"Joe it's Con. Help is on the way. Just stay still," Con said soothingly.

"Couldn't…steer. Anyone…h-hurt?" Joe asked still with his eyes closed.

"Just you, Joe," Con said.

"Lemme out… I need t' check…van...Somm'n wrong," Joe said as he pulled his eyes open partially and tried to get out of his seatbelt.

"No! Stay still. I'll check out the van in a few minutes," Con said, gently restraining him.

Just then the ambulance and fire truck pulled up and Con cleared out of the way in order for them to do their work. He took that opportunity to call Fenton.

Frank had just left the dentist when his cell phone rang.

"Frank, it's Dad. I need you to go to the hospital. Joe's been in an accident," Fenton said in a rush.

"Is he okay?" Frank said as he took off at a run for the motorcycle.

"Con said his pulse was steady and he was able to get Joe to respond but he was kind of out of it. Joe did tell him he wanted to go check over the van himself. Con said he was slurring his words though," Fenton said.

"I'll meet you there. Got to go," Frank said as he started the motorcycle.

Frank paced endlessly around the emergency waiting room despite his parent's repeated requests for him to sit down. Finally, the doctor arrived. "Are you here for Joseph Hardy?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm Joe's father" Fenton said as he stood to greet the doctor.

"Please have a seat," the doctor said. When everyone was seated, he continued. "Joseph is extremely lucky that the airbag deployed in the car he was driving. He bruised his hip where it hit the door, he has bruising from the seatbelt, and his head and neck are likely to be sore for a few days. He lost consciousness in the ambulance, but has since regained consciousness. He does not have a concussion though, which is good news.

"One injury is inconsistent with the others though, it looks like he has a shoulder injury on his right side. Was this injured before today?"

"Yes Doctor," Laura said. "He hurt his shoulder in football practice and then re-injured yesterday."

"Well, that makes more sense," the doctor said. "I went ahead and immobilized it. You can go up and see him in room 851. We'll keep him overnight for observation, but as long as he does okay through the night he can go home tomorrow."

Frank stood up quickly as his parents were thanking the doctor and took the elevator up to the eighth floor. He cautiously entered Joe's room and peeked around the corner. Joe was laying there with his eyes closed, a few bandages here and there, and his right arm in a sling. Overall though, he looked like he would be okay.

"Hey Joe," Frank said softly. Joe's eyes fluttered open.

"Hey Frank," Joe replied groggily. "Sorry I messed up the van."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're going to be okay. Are you up for telling me what happened? Did someone hit you or run you off the road?" Frank asked.

"No, it was just me. The van became too hard to steer and I couldn't control it." Joe continued explaining as much of the accident as he could to Frank.

"I should have just taken you to that appointment," Frank said shaking his head. "You shouldn't have been driving with your shoulder hurting as much as it is."

"That's my fault, I should have asked for help. But I think there is something wrong with the van though to have made it so hard to steer," Joe said.

"I'll look at it Joe. The doctor said that you should be able to come home tomorrow, but no dice on getting away without a sling this time. The doctor already told Mom and Dad he gave you one," Frank said with a smile.

Joe grimaced slightly and closed his eyes again. "Sorry Frank. I'm just tired."


	5. Chapter 5

A few minutes later, Fenton and Laura came into the room and looked over Joe who was sleeping soundly. "Well, he looks a little pale, but it sounds like he'll be okay," Fenton said. Laura was standing next to him dabbing at her eyes.

Turning to Frank, Fenton said, "I just heard from Con. He did a cursory check of the van and the fan belt was missing. It must have snapped. That would have caused the power steering to fail which explains why Joe couldn't keep control."

"I knew I should have canceled my meeting and taken him myself," Laura said, with tears in her eyes. "None of this would have happened."

Frank could tell she had been crying. Seeing them hurt was always tough on her.

Fenton wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "We had no way of knowing what would happen. He would have been fine driving if the fan belt hadn't let go. Come on Laura, calm down for Joe's sake," he said pulling her close and wiping her eyes.

Fenton turned again to Frank and nodded his head towards the hallway. After both of them had exited the room, Fenton asked quietly, "Has Joe been doing all the maintenance on the van?"

"Yeah, he does it all himself…What are you saying? Joe knows what he is doing," Frank said. He wasn't sure he liked where this was going.

"Of course he knows what he is doing," Fenton said soothingly. "But you both have been very busy and under a lot of pressure. When was the last time Joe worked on the van?"

"It was probably about nine months since he gave it a tune up, but he's changed the oil a few times since," Frank said.

"Con said that it's pretty likely that the belt was just worn at a spot and snapped. It probably needed to be replaced," Fenton said. "I'm going to the get the van checked out and have regular maintenance done on it when we get the body work done. Just be careful how you tell Joe when he asks you what happened. I don't want him to think that I don't trust him."

"Could the belt have been tampered with?" Frank asked.

"Con didn't seem to think so. He had someone else check it over at the station, and they didn't see any signs of tampering to the van hood or anything, but it was crushed against the tree which makes it impossible to tell for sure. The belt is completely missing, but that happens when it snaps. It probably got whipped into the underbrush along the road somewhere," Fenton explained. "Is there any reason to think someone might have tampered with the van? Are you on a case?"

"No," Frank said as stared at the floor.

"People make mistakes Frank. Joe is no exception. He probably just missed the wear in the belt. It was just bad timing. He might have been able to control the van had his shoulder been in better shape. Please promise me you'll watch what you say to him. I'm sure he'll be plenty hard on himself for this," Fenton said.

"I know Dad," Frank said.

Fenton and Frank returned to the room, and after watching Joe sleep for a while longer, Fenton convinced Laura to go home, get dinner and try to sleep. She could come back while Frank was at school the next day. Frank insisted that he stay the night with Joe.

Around ten o'clock that evening, Joe blinked his eyes, started to sit up and moaned involuntarily. Frank, who had drifted off while sitting in the uncomfortable chair, woke quickly at the noise.

"Hey baby brother," Frank said quietly. "Take it easy."

"Oh man, I feel like I was run over," Joe said. "Can you help me up? I need to go to the bathroom."

"Let me call the nurse Joe," Frank said not sure if Joe should be up yet.

"Look, I can't wait for them. I'll go without you too if you don't help," Joe said, his normal stubbornness coming out.

"Fine, hold on a minute," Frank said as he lowered the rails and helped Joe to his feet. Joe swayed slightly and leaned heavily on Frank. "How's the hip? You bruised it in the accident," Frank said as he walked slowly with Joe to the bathroom.

"Hurts, but nothing I can't handle," Joe said gritting his teeth against the pain. He was limping some, but each step seemed a little easier.

Once Joe was settled back into bed, he turned to Frank and asked, "So did you check out the van? What happened?"

"I haven't had a chance to look at the van. I've been here with you," Frank said, gazing up at the ceiling.

"You know something though. I can tell. What did you find out?" Joe said with that pleading look in his eyes that always made Frank do things against his better judgment.

"Con checked the van. He told Dad that it looks like the fan belt snapped which made the power steering go out. Since your shoulder was hurt, you wouldn't have been able to control the car," Frank said. He glanced at Joe, who was staring at his hand.

Joe looked up, "Do they know why the fan belt snapped? Was there any sign of tampering?"

"No," Frank said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "The van was checked over at the police station and Con said it was most likely a worn belt. There were no signs of tampering but the hood was…impacted." Frank didn't want to upset Joe anymore than he already was by giving him the full extent of the damage.

"Well, I guess I can't do anything right can I?" Joe muttered to himself.

"Joe, stop it. We missed it okay. Last time I checked, we're not perfect," Frank said.

"No. I missed it. I'm the one who does all of the maintenance on the van. I'm just glad that I was driving and no one else was hurt. I would never forgive myself if you had gotten hurt in the van because of my screw up. I need to check over that whole van as soon as I'm out of here. Don't drive it until I do that, okay?" Joe asked with worry written all over his face.

"Joe accidents happen. Don't worry about it, Dad is going to have the van looked over completely and serviced in addition to having the body work done," Frank said.

Unfortunately this did not have the calming effect that Frank thought it would. "I guess he doesn't trust me anymore does he? That's just great. I wonder what else they'll find wrong with the van that I overlooked," his blue eyes clouded with disgust at himself.

"Joe will you please just calm down. Dad does trust you. In fact, he was worried about you thinking that. He knows we've been under a lot of pressure lately and he felt bad for not helping to take care of things like maintenance on the van when we have been doing so much work for him lately," Frank paused to gauge Joe's reaction. "And you know I trust you with my life."

Joe looked into his dark eyes, "I know," he said simply, knowing that he had to be more careful, for Frank's sake.

"Come on Joe, you need to get some more sleep so they'll let you out of here tomorrow," Frank said as he got as comfortable as possible in the pullout chair the nurse had brought in earlier. A few minutes later, Frank glanced over and Joe was already asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time Joe woke the next morning, Frank was gone. Frank had left a hurried note on the white board across from his bed saying that he left for school and that their mom would be in by around 10:00 AM.

Joe ate the tasteless breakfast that was left on the tray for him, wondering why no one thought to open the little container of juice when they saw he could only use one hand. After he had finished with only a minimum of juice in his lap, the doctor and his mom arrived.

The doctor performed a quick checkup. "Joe, you can go home now. You'll be just fine if you rest. Wear the sling for a week--" the doctor said before he was interrupted.

"Then can I play football?" Joe asked anxiously.

The doctor laughed, "Big game, huh? What I was going to say is, have it checked out by you family doctor before you go back to sports. Your hip will be tender, just rest it and it will heal. No football practice until you are cleared by your doctor. Got it?"

"Oh, he's got it alright. And if he forgets, I'll be right there to remind him," Laura said with a small smile. The doctor left and Laura let Joe change before taking him home.

Joe spent most of the afternoon on the couch flipping channels on the TV. When he had finally had enough of the soap operas, he went to his room to catch up on his homework. It wasn't until he looked around his room and failed to find his backpack did he remember that it was probably still in the van.

"Well, I really didn't want to do homework anyway. And the bed seems to be calling my name," he muttered to himself as he climbed into bed and fell asleep.

A few hours later, Joe woke up to hear the shower in his bathroom running. "Frank must be home from practice," Joe thought.

Frank came in a few minutes later, drying his hair with a towel. "Hey little brother, how are you feeling? We are really missing you at practice."

"I'm fine," Joe said stifling a yawn. "Is Coach mad at me?"

"No, he's not mad at you, just worried. He just wants to make sure you are in shape for the game."

"I'll be just fine," he assured Frank. "Hey, you don't have my backpack do you?"

"No," Frank said thoughtfully. "It must be still in the van. I'll drive you over to the body shop to pick it up if you want."

"Yeah, I really need it. I need to get yesterday's homework done before I go to school tomorrow," Joe said as he pulled himself up from his bed and took a step. His bruised hip protested and he wobbled slightly. Frank reached out quickly to steady him.

"Don't rush. Just take it slow. It is likely to hurt when you first get up," Frank said calmly. He knew that Joe was counting the days to the game and cringing at the rapidly diminishing numbers.

"I'm okay," Joe said as struggled on the next few steps. "Let me clean up and I'll meet you downstairs."

Frank nodded and left to tell their mom that they were going to get Joe's backpack.

"That's fine Frank. You can take my car. Just don't let Joe talk you into letting him check over the whole van while you're there," Laura said. "He doesn't need the added stress right now."

"I won't Mom. I was going to see if he wanted to go to Mr. Pizza's afterward. Just something to cheer him up a little," Frank said.

"That's a great idea Frank. I think he could use a change of pace. Don't stay out too late, you both have homework to do," Laura said. "Take a jacket, it's going to get cold out," she added as an afterthought.

Frank walked back to the closet and pulled out his and Joe's jackets and headed out to the car. Sometimes, it was just easier to do what Mom said than to remind her that they were growing up.

As the boys drove across town to the body shop, Joe stared out the window lost in thought. Finally, Frank asked jokingly, "Okay, what is going on in that thick head of yours?"

"I don't know Frank. Everything is just going wrong recently. I feel like I have this little black rain cloud following me around," Joe said.

"Joe –," Frank started to reply, shaking his head.

"Oh come on, Frank," Joe said. "It hasn't been a good fall so far," Joe said running his fingers through this hair and making it a jumble of curls.

"Well, how do you feel about not getting a part in the play?" Frank asked, hoping this time he would get a straight answer.

Just then though, Frank was pulling into the body shop.

Joe ignored the question as he saw the van. "Oh man, look at our van." Joe's face showed his distress. "This is horrible. The whole front end is crunched."

"Come on. Let's just get your backpack," Frank said as he came to the passenger side in case Joe needed help. He was only a little unsteady this time as Frank walked with him over to the van.

Frank slid the door back and grabbed the backpack. As he did, the contents spilled out onto the floor of the van, scattering Joe's notes in the process. As Frank started to gather the mess, he said, "Well looks like your zipper broke. When did that happen?"

"I don't know. It was fine before," Joe replied, much more interested in trying to get the dented hood opened.

"Well, you'll need a new backpack now. This one won't hold anything," Frank said as he stuffed the last bit into the bag. He stood up and looked around for Joe. "Where did you go?"

"I'm right here," Joe replied, still trying to get the bent hood latch undone and the hood raised with one hand.

Frank came around the front of the van, "What are you do--?" But he cut off his question as it became very apparent. "Oh no, forget it. I promised Mom I wouldn't let you stand out here in the cold and look over the van. And besides, you'll never get that bent hood open with one hand."

"I'll get it open if you can just come over and help me with this part," Joe said with that pleading look in his eyes.

Frank closed his eyes so he didn't have to look at Joe's puppy dog face and took a deep breath. "No Joe, let's just go."

Joe tried one more time, but still couldn't get the latch open. Reluctantly, he limped back to the car and climbed in.

"Don't be mad. Let's go to Mr. Pizza's and I'll make it up to you," Frank said.

Frank tried to steer the conversation back to Joe's feelings about the play and the other things that had happened in the last few days, but Joe was too upset about the van to talk about anything else. Frank finally gave up and listened to Joe recite all the maintenance he remembered doing over the last year.

When they finally reached Mr. Pizza, Frank was relieved. Hopefully a change in atmosphere would do Joe some good. Joe finally smiled and stopped his van maintenance monologue when he walked through the door and found Vanessa and Callie at one of the tables.

Joe slowly made his way to the table with Frank at his side. He eased into the seat next to Vanessa and gave her a quick kiss.

"Are you okay? I was so worried about you. Should you be out already?" Vanessa said without taking a breath, her faced etched with worry as she looked him up and down to see what else was wrong with him. "Callie and I were going to stop over at your house as soon as we were done to check on you two."

"I'm fine, really," Joe said. "In fact, I'll be back at school tomorrow, but I can't play football yet."

"That's great that you'll be back in school!" Callie said. "You can help Vanessa with the scenery and props tomorrow after school since you can't practi-," she jumped slightly as Vanessa's foot caught her in the shin. She coughed to cover the little break. "Well, you probably need to rest rather than work after school," she amended.

"No, that's okay," Joe said quickly. "I have to wait for Frank to finish practice anyways, so I'll help you with the scenery Vanessa. I'll try not to screw anything up," he said as he cast his eyes down at the table.

"Joe, I'd love for you to help, and you don't screw things up, but I still think you need to take it easy," Vanessa said as she squeezed his hand under the table. "You can come with me, but you're not working. Frank and your mom would have my head if they thought I had you doing too much."

Joe shot Frank a look and saw the worry in his eyes. He knew Vanessa was right. "Okay, okay. I'll just sit there."

When the foursome finally left Mr. Pizza, it had grown dark and chilly. Vanessa and Callie, who had come into the restaurant while the sun was still warming the air, both shivered.

"Man, it's gotten cold out here," Callie said.

"I know it. I wasn't prepared for this," Vanessa added.

"Well, Mom was prepared. She made us bring our jackets," Frank said with a laugh as he took his off and put it around Callie. Joe pulled his off with a little difficulty and gave it to Vanessa and they parted company.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, the bell rang signaling the end of school. Thank goodness, Joe thought as he walked towards his locker. This had been a long week. He gathered up the books out of his locker and tossed them into an old backpack of Frank's that he had borrowed. He stopped at the soda machine and went to the auditorium to meet Vanessa.

Vanessa was in the wings working on one of the props. He handed her the soda he had picked up for her and opened his with a little difficulty. After a few minutes break, they got to work on fixing the prop.

"I'll be right back Joe," Vanessa whispered, "I have to go get a screwdriver from the back."

As Vanessa left, Joe heard them practicing on stage. He stood up to take a look and stretch out his leg. As he got up, he accidentally knocked over the soda, spilling it across the floor.

"Damn," Joe exclaimed under his breath as he grabbed for the can to prevent any more from spilling. Just as he looked up from his crouched position, Craig exited the stage right in front of Joe.

Craig looked at Joe crouched by the floor with the can in his hand and the big spill still spreading. "What are you trying to do this time Hardy? Are you trying to make me fall to get back at me?"

Joe's embarrassment at the spill turned to anger. He hated to be accused by Craig. Craig pushed his way further into the curtained wing avoiding the soda and drew close into Joe as he stood up.

Craig whispered, "You might think that everyone thinks you're awesome, but you're nothing more than a dumb jock. And with a screwed up shoulder, you're pretty well worthless."

While Joe was trying in vain to master his anger, Craig reached up and gave Joe a hard push on his shoulder. The pain fueled Joe's anger more; he dropped the can and brought his good arm back ready to deliver the punch that he knew Craig deserved.

Just then Vanessa came running in, dropped the screwdriver and shouted, "NO! Joe don't!" She grabbed his arm and held it preventing him from connecting with Craig's face.

Joe dropped his arm and looked at Craig with rage in his eyes, "You'd better watch out Craig." He turned around and walked out into the hallway with Vanessa following him.

"What has gotten into you Joe? I can't leave you for a minute without you getting into a fight with Craig." She wanted Joe's help, but she wasn't so sure having Joe around the play was a good idea anymore. "And it sure sounded like you just threatened him."

"Vanessa, I'm sorry. Craig is a jerk," Joe said. He knew she wanted more explanation, but he couldn't do it right now. "Look, I have to go back in there and clean up the soda. I'll be right back."

"What soda?" she thought. Vanessa followed Joe back in through the stage doors and saw him go into the janitor's closet. She went back to her prop knowing that Joe needed some time to cool down. Vanessa resolved to get to the bottom of this later though.

Joe entered the closet hoping to find a mop and bucket filled and ready to go. "Of course," he mumbled, "why should this go my way either. I've got a mop and no cleaning solution." He picked up the ammonia off the shelf and was so intent on trying to unscrew the bottle top with one arm in a sling that he didn't hear the door ease open behind him.

Joe had just gotten the bottle open when something hit the side of his head. His vision swam in and out and he swayed. He dropped the bottle of ammonia splashing his clothes and spreading it across the floor. A moment later he collapsed to the floor hitting the side of his head again and his vision went black. Joe lay on the floor next to the spreading puddle of chemicals.

After making sure that Joe was unconscious, the boy climbed the step ladder and opened the vent to the boy's dressing room slightly. He climbed down off the step stool and laid it on its side as if Joe had fallen off it. He quickly checked Joe's pockets, but still couldn't find the notebook. He gave up and slipped out of the janitor's closet before anyone missed him.

Frank approached Vanessa, "Hey Vanessa. Where's Joe?" He looked around expecting him to walk up at any minute.

"He said he was going to get a mop to clean up the soda he spilled. That was 15 minutes ago though. I think he just needed to cool off," Vanessa said.

"Why?" Frank asked. Vanessa wasn't making much sense.

"He and Craig got in another fight. And Joe threatened him. I was shocked. It's just not like Joe," she said as she shook her head.

"I'll go check on him and see if I can get him to talk to me," Frank assured her. He went down the darkened backstage hallway and opened the door to the janitor's closet.

"Joe, we need to ---," but he stopped abruptly as he was hit with the ammonia smell and the sight of his brother on the floor.

"Vanessa! Call an ambulance!" he shouted to be heard above the rehearsal. Frank's eyes were burning as he entered the room. He didn't want to move Joe, but the fumes were so thick Frank knew he had to get Joe out.

Frank held his breath and scooped Joe into a fireman carry. Gingerly he laid him in the hallway away from the chemicals. He was breathing but coughing and had a pulse but it seemed to be racing. He was still unconscious.

Within a few minutes he and Joe were surrounded by paramedics and some of the teachers who were still in the building. Frank explained what he knew and that he was pretty sure the chemical was ammonia.

Other teachers were helping to evacuate the auditorium. A few people, including Craig and Alan were coughing as they were herded by, but no one seemed seriously effected.

Vanessa ran back to the group around Joe. "Frank is he going to be okay?" she asked worriedly, coughing a bit herself.

"I hope so Vanessa…," he trailed off. "I'm going to the hospital with him." Frank thought Joe looked very pale and though he hadn't opened his eyes yet, he was still coughing.

"We need to get him to the hospital," the paramedic said to Frank. "His blood pressure is high. How long do you think he was exposed to the fumes?"

"Probably about 15 minutes," Frank said to the paramedic. He turned to Vanessa and said, "Can you call my mom and dad and let them know?"

"Yes. Go with him. Call me later and let me know how he is," Vanessa said.

She took one last look at Joe and said quietly, "You have to be okay Joe. You just have to."


	8. Chapter 8

Frank sat out of the way in the ambulance continually speaking to his brother, hoping that Joe would wake up. The paramedics had cleaned Joe's face and removed his clothes so that there was no lingering chemical. "Come on Joe. Can you hear me? You're going to be okay. Just open your eyes."

Finally, after several minutes of rambling, Frank was rewarded when Joe opened his bloodshot eyes. "W-wha happen? Oooh," he moaned right before he vomited and shut his eyes again.

An hour later, Frank was in the waiting room, thinking that the place looked entirely too familiar, when his mother and father came running in.

"What happened, Frank? Is Joe okay?" Laura asked anxiously as she hugged her oldest.

"There was an ammonia spill in the janitor's closet and he was overcome by the fumes. I really don't know anything else. I just got done with practice and when I went to look for him I found him unconscious," Frank said as he ran his hands through his hair.

Fenton put his arm around Frank's shoulder, "Did he wake up before you got here?"

"Yes in the ambulance. He woke up, opened his eyes, started to talk, and vomited. He was out of it after that," Frank said. "Did you get any more information from the school before you came?"

"They said that everyone else was okay. Some students were treated at the scene, but no one else was brought to the hospital," Fenton said.

Just then the doctor walked up. "Are you Joe Hardy's family?"

"Yes we are. Is he okay?" Laura said without a breath.

"He'll be fine. He was exposed to concentrated ammonia fumes which have caused a headache, coughing, vomiting, and some laryngitis. He also has a knot on his head, but he likely got that when he collapsed," the doctor said.

"Why did he collapse? I didn't think the fumes would have caused him to loose consciousness so quickly," Fenton asked.

Frank jumped in, "Now that I think about it. A step stool was knocked over in the closet. It could be that Joe fell when he was stepping down from it."

"That would make sense," Fenton said. "That would explain the knot on his head and why he couldn't get out of the room when he first smelled the fumes." he said.

The doctor said, "That does make sense and seems consistent with his injuries. Joe's pulse did slow down, but we need to keep him tonight for observation to make sure that his blood pressure remains down as well."

Within seconds of hearing Joe's room number, Frank was on his way leaving his parents to thank the doctor. He opened Joe's door and went to sit next to his brother.

"Hey," Joe said with a gravelly voice when he saw Frank.

"Hey yourself," Frank said softly. "Don't talk, okay. You need to rest your throat. I'm sure it pretty raw after all that ammonia."

"What happened?" Joe mouthed.

"There was an ammonia spill in the janitor's closet. Did it spill when you were climbing on the step stool? You shouldn't have been on a step stool anyway you know, with one arm in a sling, you don't balance well," he said worry evident on his face.

Joe looked at him through blood shot eyes, "What step stool? I don't understand," he croaked.

Frank looked at him searchingly. Does Joe not remember what happened? "Here," Frank said as he handed Joe some paper and a pen. "Write down what you remember."

With a little difficulty, Joe wrote:

spilled soda, Craig harassing me again, almost hit him, went to get mop, no cleaning stuff in the bucket, got ammonia, finally opened it, something hit head – maybe something fell off shelf, then woke up here

After Frank read Joe's note he said, "You don't remember climbing on the step stool?"

Joe couldn't remember climbing on a step stool, but his head was beginning to pound. "I don't think so," he managed to get out and he closed his eyes.

"Get some sleep Joe. I'll be back later," Frank said and he left as his parents were coming in. "I forgot some stuff at school. It's not too late, so I'm going to run back there before they lock up the building."

Vanessa finally left school emotionally exhausted. She had wanted to go straight to the hospital, but her mom insisted she come home at least for a little while first. She went straight up to her room though and pulled Joe's jacket close to her. She loved the scent of his aftershave, but it really did make her miss him even more.

As she pulled the jacket tight around her, she felt something hard in the pocket. She reached in and pulled out the little notebook he had been so happy to find the other day. Vanessa remembered Joe being so adamant that she didn't look in it.

She knew she shouldn't. But after a day like today, she needed something to distract her. Maybe he had written her a poem or something that he wasn't ready to show her yet. She opened up to the beginning of the little book. There was very little written in it, but it shocked her none the less.

It was supposed to be my part – not his

Revenge is sweet

I won't be pushed aside

If it's not my part then no one gets it

The rehearsals will be so fun – for me

Accidents or are they?

I will have my way

Fire – how quickly will it all burn?

The show will not go on

Vanessa shook her head to clear it and reread the words. She knew Joe was upset about the play, but she had no idea he would go this far. Did he plan all of this?

Just then the phone rang and she jumped. She quickly grabbed for the phone.

"Hello," she answered.

"Vanessa, it's Frank."

"Oh Frank, I have to see you right away! Is Joe going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine. What do you need to see me about?"

"I need to show it to you. Can you meet me at the school?"

"That's where I was going anyways."

Forty minutes later they met in the parking lot of the school.

"Frank, I found this in Joe's jacket pocket. I know I shouldn't have read it, but I did. Just read it," she said as she pushed the notebook into his hand.

Frank read the few lines in the notebook over and over not really believing that Joe could have written them. The handwriting was messy, like Joe's, but there wasn't much written so it was hard to tell.

He didn't want to believe that Joe was capable of doing anything like this. But why would Joe have this written in his notebook in his jacket pocket if it wasn't his.

"That's not all Frank. Before I left school today, I overheard one of the teachers say that the concentration of ammonia was also high in the boy's dressing room. The vent in the janitor's closet opens into the boy's dressing room. It is usually left closed, but today the teacher said it was opened," Vanessa said.

"I heard Craig and Alan talking to some of the other boys in the play and they said that they saw Joe pour the soda on the floor rather than spilling it. And that Joe probably opened the vent and opened the ammonia bottle to create fumes in the dressing room. I didn't believe them," she said. "Now that I read this though, I don't know what to think."

"I don't know what to think either," Frank said. "When I went to get him out of the room, there was a step stool knocked over by the vent. It looked like he might have fallen off of it and hit his head. The doctor said he had a knot on the side of his head probably from where he hit the floor."

"Do you think he was up there opening the vent? Could Craig and Alan be right? And I heard Joe threaten Craig today!" she said with a shocked expression on her face.

"This is crazy," Frank said as he looked down at the notebook. "This is Joe we're talking about. He couldn't care that much about this play…Could he?" All of the times recently when Joe had avoided talking about the play and hadn't been totally upfront with him ran through his mind. He stood for a minute and then shook his head, "I just can't believe he would do these things."

"I don't want to believe it either Frank. It just doesn't make any sense. But he's had a rough time recently and he really hasn't wanted to talk about the play at all. Do you think that the ladder falling and the ammonia spill could be the 'accidents'? They did both happen when Joe was there. And the 'fire' part scares me. There hasn't been a fire, yet…"

"I don't know Vanessa, but I intend to find out, hopefully before a fire happens," Frank said as he pocketed the little book. He left her in the parking lot and went inside the school.

The janitor's closet was locked, but he quickly picked it. Unfortunately, everything had been cleaned up and the vent had been closed, so finger prints wouldn't help at this point.

He sighed and went to his locker to pick up the work he had forgotten earlier. Frank was not at all ready to jump to conclusions regarding his brother; he needed to get more information. It was true that Joe was not entirely open with him recently, but that didn't mean that he would do something so horrible.


	9. Chapter 9

Frank decided that the best course of action was to go back to the house and check the handwriting in the notebook against Joe's English journal which he had seen in his backpack. It had been dusk in the parking lot when he was first looking at the notebook, so he should be able to make a more certain determination at home. He hated himself for doing this, but he had to have proof that Joe wasn't involved in case any of the student's accusations were made public.

Frank arrived home to an empty house. He turned off the alarm and made his way directly to Joe's room. He ran his fingers though his hair as he looked at the state of Joe's room. He stepped over the piles of clothes and found the backpack Joe had borrowed. Frank pulled out the journal and found the latest entry. There were similarities in the writing, and some of the letters had the same formation but there were differences as well in the slant and spacing of the letters.

Frank was not a specialist in handwriting analysis, but after assessing both writing samples, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was fairly certain he could prove that Joe hadn't written that entry in the notebook. He closed the journal and dropped it back in the backpack.

He needed to go back to the hospital and talk to Joe about this; hopefully he was up to it.

As Frank arrived at the hospital, his mom and dad were by the elevators getting ready to leave.

"Frank honey, you should go home and get some sleep too. You look exhausted," Laura said as she gave him a quick hug.

"Joe's doing much better already," Fenton added. "He was already bored and his channel surfing was driving me crazy. Thankfully he found that old movie _Backdraft_ and finally settled on that."

Frank had seen Joe watching that movie recently about an arsonist. He really hoped this was just coincidence.

"Frank, what's wrong?" Laura asked worriedly, seeing the change in Frank's expression.

"Nothing, Mom. I'm fine. I'm going to go in and see Joe now. There's no school tomorrow, so I don't have to get up early," he said before going into Joe's room.

"How are you feeling Joe?" Frank asked as he sat in the uncomfortable chair.

"Been better," Joe said in a hoarse voice turning away from the TV. "My throat still feels raw, but my head hurts less now. Good part is my blood pressure is staying down so far, so I'm sure I can go home tomorrow."

"That's great. I'm glad you're feeling better. You didn't look too good earlier," Frank said. He paused, and then added, "So you're watching _Backdraft_ again? You just saw that."

"I know. I think the fires in the movie are amazing to watch," Joe said.

"Since when did you start liking fires? You know how much damage they cause," Frank said with a little too much vehemence in his voice.

Joe turned away from the movie and looked at Frank closely, "What is wrong with me watching the movie?"

"Nothing," Frank said as he ran his hand through his hair.

Joe turned off the TV and studied Frank with his blood-shot eyes. Frank was acting really strange. Joe said, "Okay, spill. What is bothering you?"

Frank held up the little book and said, "This is what's bothering me."

"Where did you get that?" Joe asked, he thought he remembered putting it in his jacket pocket.

"Vanessa found it in the jacket you lent her," Frank said. "Are you sure this is yours?"

"Of course it's mine. She didn't read it, did she?" Joe said his voice worried. He had planned for her surprise party for so long and he didn't want her to figure it out ahead of time.

"She read it Joe and she showed it to me but---," Frank said.

"Damn it, doesn't anyone respect my privacy anymore?" Joe cut in angrily as he bolted up quickly and immediately the alarms monitoring Joe's blood pressure and pulse started to go off. He had worked so hard on the ideas for Frank's birthday gift which were also in that little book and they both read it without permission.

"Joe calm down," Frank said as he quickly stood beside Joe. "Lay back down," Frank said soothingly as he gently pushed on Joe's shoulders until he relented and lay back on the pillow. Joe didn't want to have to stay another day either so it was worth trying to master his temper, though his brother had really pushed him this time.

"We'll talk in a minute, but we can't do it while you're so upset," Frank said.

The boys watched in silence for a few minutes as the blood pressure monitor inflated again and Frank was relieved to see that Joe's blood pressure and pulse were returning to normal quickly. He chastised himself for not waiting until tomorrow, but it was too late for that. So as the room quieted again, Frank tried to explain.

"What I was trying to say was that I don't think this notebook is really yours. There is some pretty scary stuff in here. Arson. Threats," Frank voice trailed off.

"Arson? The only fire in there is on the candles for the cake. That's hardly what I would call arson," Joe said. This conversation was making his head hurt. Joe reached out his good hand and snatched the book from him, "Here, I'll show you."

Joe opened the book. He read the little that was written in the book and looked at Frank, "This isn't my book," he said confused.

"It's not?" Frank said relief coursing through him as he got the confirmation he had wanted.

"No Frank it's not mine. Mine looks exactly like this but it has all the plans for a surprise party I was going to have for Vanessa and my ideas for a birthday gift for you," Joe said as he stared at the words in disbelief.

After a few minutes in silence, only interrupted the inflating of the automatic blood pressure cuff which showed Joe's blood pressure elevated, but not enough to set off the alarms, Joe finally said, "You didn't really believe that I would write something like this let alone do it, did you?" Joe asked the hurt evident in his voice.

"Joe, I'm so sorry. I got caught up in the facts and forgot about what I always knew in my heart. And," Frank hesitated, "you haven't been real open with me recently, especially about how you feel about not getting the part in the play. Vanessa showed me this and the "Accidents" written there seemed to fit with the ladder falling and with you falling off the step stool near the vent with the open ammonia in the janitor's closet…I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions."

"You're right – you did jump to conclusions," Joe said, as he rubbed his eyes. "It's hurts to think that you would even consider that I could do something like this. You know me better."

Joe searched Frank's face and saw shame in his eyes. He could continue to berate his brother for his lack of trust, but as he looked at Frank's pale face making the bags under his eyes stand out more prominently, he realized he had said enough. He knew Frank loved him and he knew people made mistakes, himself included.

Joe finally continued "I admit I haven't been very open recently. It just seems like everything I planned for the fall has gotten messed up. I'm sorry too; I guess I figured that I should be old enough to handle my problems and feelings on my own without dumping them on you all of the time. But shutting you out wasn't the right thing to do," Joe said as he rubbed his eyes again.

"Joe, you've always been able to handle your own problems. I'm just a sounding board, someone to talk to. I will always be here for you, even next year when I'm at college. Just keep talking to me okay?" Frank said clearly relieved.

"I promise," Joe said. "But what really scares me is someone is out there that did actually write this. And why do you keep saying that I fell off the step stool? I was never on it."

"You said that earlier, but then you sounded confused. I couldn't tell whether you actually remembered what happened or not," Frank said.

"I remember something hitting my head and then the fumes, but that is the last thing that I do remember before waking up in the hospital," Joe said. "I thought it was something that fell off the shelf, but maybe it was a 'someone' instead. Do you think this person knows I have the notebook?" he asked with a yawn as he scrunched his eyes closed to dull the hammering in his head.

"Well, if he does, then maybe some of these accidents that have been plaguing you recently aren't accidents at all. You might have someone after you," Frank said with a frown. "I'm staying here tonight. Tomorrow is Saturday so that will give us some time to go over all of the facts."


	10. Chapter 10

In the morning, as breakfast arrived, Frank sat up in his chair and stretched. He gazed over at the mess of blond curls in the bed and wondered what exactly Joe had gotten mixed up with this time. A few minutes later, Joe rolled over with his eyes still closed and mumbled, "Wha'd Mom make for breakfast?"

Frank laughed, "No such luck baby brother. Open your eyes."

"Oh man. I thought it was a nightmare and I would wake up in my own bed," Joe said as he looked at the food on the plate and scrunched up his nose.

"Just eat it, so we can get out of here. How are you feeling?" Frank said with a hint of concern in voice as he eyed the latest blood pressure reading on the machine by Joe's bed. He was concerned about Joe's recovery from the chemicals and was more than a little worried about the danger Joe was in from the unknown person.

"I'm fine, Frank. Don't worry. See, my blood pressure is normal and my arm will feel great once they finally take this thing off. I'm ready to get out of here. Just in time for the weekend too!" Joe said.

"Remember, we need to go over the facts to see who might be after you. I don't think you're safe," Frank said.

"I haven't forgotten," Joe said with a yawn. "Let's get home and we can start working on it."

A few hours later, Joe was discharged with some painkillers for his throat, head and eyes and told to rest.

"Let's get you home Joe," Laura said as she climbed into the car with the rest of the family to leave the hospital. "I think you both should just go home and climb into bed," she said as she glanced worriedly over her shoulder at Joe and then Frank.

"We're fine Mom," Joe replied his voice still gravely. "I'm tired of sleeping, at least for now that is," he said with a smile. "I may feel differently when Monday morning comes around and it's time to go to school."

After they arrived home, Frank and Joe entered Fenton's study and shut the door. "Dad, I think we have a problem here," Frank started.

Fenton looked up from his work and studied the boys, "What do you mean we have a problem? Are you feeling okay Joe?" He felt like the last week was full of problems, and he wasn't looking forward to dealing with any more.

"I'm fine Dad," Joe said hurriedly.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'fine.' I think someone is after Joe…" Frank said. "I don't think all of the incidents have been accidents like we first suspected."

"And what do you think Joe?" Fenton asked his blond son who had dropped into one of the leather chairs and was rubbing his eyes.

"I think Frank is right. I apparently have something that someone is desperate to get back," Joe said. Frank and Joe proceeded to explain the whole story.

Fenton leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He reread the notebook entry once more. "Well, unfortunately, I think you're right. It looks like we have a potential arsonist on our hands and if your guess is right, they've may have tried to hurt you, Joe, possibly more than once; perhaps with the car accident and then with the ammonia spill. And, they seem to have done a good job of making it all look like accidents or your fault."

Frank looked at Joe, "From the writing, the type of book the person wrote in and where Joe found it, I think we are looking for a student. The most likely suspect would be someone who tried out for the play and didn't make it. Who else tried out for the lead role you auditioned for?"

Joe thought back and thought, "Well, Craig, but he made it. He does seem to hate me though. And there was also John, Ryan, Liam, and me. I don't know any of them very well, but I just can't imagine one of them doing this."

"It's a place to start at least," Fenton said. "See what you can find out about their hobbies. Are they very serious about acting, have they said anything about the play to anyone you know?

"I'll call Erza and let him know about the notebook. I'll hold onto it for now. Your van has been in for service for a few days, so I don't think there will be any evidence left at this point, but you boys can take a look. I got the call this morning saying it is ready to be picked up – I already paid for the repairs so you can pick it up whenever. Stay together please – this is getting dangerous."

Frank and Joe agreed and retreated to Joe's room to come up with a plan.

"It is so hard to believe that someone would do all of this because of a stupid school play," Joe said with a cough as he sat down on his bed, leaned against the pillow, and closed his eyes. They were still stinging but he was trying to keep from rubbing them.

"I agree. But there has to be someone out there who is willing to go to extremes to get revenge for not getting the part. We just need to find them before arson is added to the list of charges," Frank said staring at Joe as he slumped further down on the bed with his eyes closed. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine," Joe said keeping his eyes closed and stifling a yawn. "We should start – making some calls – to see if anyone has calls – no, I mean information about..." Joe just trailed off.

Joe had to be tired. This definitely ranked near the top of horrible weeks, Frank thought.

"Joe were these the names of the guys that didn't get the part? I didn't write them down earlier and I'm not sure of their last names," Frank said as he held out a notebook to Joe.

"What guys?" Joe said as he opened his red eyes, blinked a few times and stared at the paper.

"The suspects we were just talking about, remember?" Frank said concealing his worry.

"Oh yeah, I think that's names. I think we should make some calls," Joe said closing his eyes again.

"Okay Joe, after you take a nap. I think you need one," Frank said sincerely hoping that sleep was the only thing that Joe needed.

Frank pulled the covers up around Joe and went down to the kitchen to make a few calls. He dropped heavily into a chair, wondering what was up with Joe. Could it be a side effect from all that had happened or some other problem he wondered.

Laura came into the kitchen just then to make a cup of tea. She was thankful that Joe was home now, and was having one of those motherly moments when she just wanted to lock the boys in the house and keep them there so they would be safe. She noticed her oldest son leaning heavily on the table with his head in his hands.

"I know it's been a tough week, Frank," she said gently. "Are you okay?"

He looked up at her, and she noticed the dark circles under his eyes. "I'm okay. I'm just worried about Joe. He was awake and talking one minute and then he was loosing his train of thought and couldn't keep his eyes open the next. He's asleep now. Do you think something else is wrong with him?"

Laura smiled at Frank and rubbed his arm, "Well, I'm afraid that is my fault," she said.

"What?" he looked up shocked.

"Oh you know Joe," she said. "He hates to take any medication, especially for pain. So, when he actually asked me for a Tylenol, I knew he must really be hurting so I handed him one of his pain killers instead. He didn't even notice or he wouldn't have taken it, I'm sure. Those things will usually make you a bit loopy and then knock you out. Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you, but Joe needs the sleep and he wouldn't knowingly take one."

"Well that makes me feel better," Frank said as he rubbed his eyes.

"What would really make you feel better is a nap young man," Laura said as she looked him over closely. "While I won't slip you a painkiller, I will insist that you go lie down for a while. Though Joe was the one to get hurt, helping him takes its toll on you too."

His mom was right, he could use a nap. He would make some calls later when he woke up.

By the time Frank actually woke up long enough to force his eyes open, long shadows were playing across his bedroom walls. He pulled himself to his feet and crossed through the bathroom to check on Joe. His brother was in almost the same position that he had left him in many hours before. Frank contented himself by making sure he saw the slow rise and fall of Joe's chest and then went down to look for dinner.

After a pot roast dinner, Frank sat down to start calling their friends. He really needed some information on the names Joe gave him. First though, he started with Vanessa. He needed to explain to her what had happened. Frank didn't want to her thinking Joe had done anything wrong. Vanessa insisted on the blow by blow account of their conversation.

At the end, Vanessa gasped and said, "Oh Frank! I can't believe I even suspected Joe would do anything like that. I feel so horrible!"

"Vanessa, you did the right thing in coming to me. Now we know that it's not Joe causing the problems, but it looks like he is a target."


	11. Chapter 11

Frank gathered as much information as he could from Vanessa and then made six more information gathering phone calls to friends. Finally, Frank made his way to Joe's room to check on him again. This time, when he opened the door, Joe started to stir.

"Hey there – how are you feeling?" Frank asked quietly.

One of Joe's bloodshot eyes opened in the semi-darkness. "Man, how long have I been asleep?"

"Oh, about 8 hours – I was wondering if you were ever going to get up," Frank said as he sat down on the foot of Joe's bed.

"I have no idea why I slept so long – I didn't think I was this tired. We were going to make some calls and start trying to figure out who is behind all this. I've wasted a whole day," Joe said as he coughed and tried to reach his water behind him.

Frank got up to get the water bottle before Joe fell out of bed and said, "The day hasn't been wasted – we both got some sleep we really needed and I already made the phone calls."

"That's great Frank! What did you find out?" Joe asked.

"Well, John auditioned like you said and didn't make it. But I heard that he did make the travel hockey team and he has been at the ice rink non-stop. Callie said that she hears him talking about hockey constantly in Chemistry and when someone mentioned the play to him, he said that he wouldn't have had time for it with all the hockey practices. He sounds fairly unlikely to me. I talked to Biff about Liam. He said that Liam landed a part in the musical at the local dinner theater about a week after the auditions at the school, and from what I heard he is ecstatic about that," Frank said.

"He doesn't sound very likely either," Joe said, shifting around on his bed to get more comfortable. "What about Ryan?" Joe asked.

"I spoke with Chet because he seemed to know Ryan the best since they were in the same math class. Chet said he really doesn't want anything to do with the play and won't really talk about it since he didn't get a part. He is still active in the Boy Scout troop he is in and is working to become an Eagle Scout," Frank said.

"Well, he's our most likely suspect right now I guess, especially if he is still upset about not getting the part. He is in my English class, but I really don't know much about him," Joe said. "I can try to talk to him on Monday and casually mention the notebook and see if he acts at all suspiciously."

"I don't think that is a good idea. Think about it Joe, someone is already after you. If it is Ryan, you don't want to make yourself an easier target," Frank said running his hand through his hair.

"I'll be in class with people around. Don't worry," Joe said as he pushed himself up off the bed and stood for a minute before sitting back down and lowering his head towards his knees as far as he could with his arm in the way.

"Are you okay?" Frank asked as he moved closer to Joe and felt his forehead. He felt sweaty but not feverish.

"That was no Tylenol Mom gave me was it?" Joe asked as he waited for the dizziness to stop.

"Well-," Frank trailed off.

"I didn't think so. These painkillers always make me sleep like crazy and then I get dizzy. It's almost as bad as the pain. I wish she wouldn't do that," Joe said as he stood up one more time more slowly. Frank shot up to stand next to him and stood at his side while he walked to the bathroom.

"She was just being a mom. She wanted to help you and getting some sleep without pain was the best thing that she could think of. Don't be too upset with her," Frank said as he waited outside the bathroom door to make sure Joe didn't pass out.

Joe looked a little better and his hair was a little neater when he finally came out of the bathroom. Joe said, "Let's go get the van and see what we can find. Dad said we can pick it up anytime."

"True, but the only problem is that you can't drive, remember?" Frank said. "Why don't we see if Biff can come with us to pick up the van?"

"I hate not being able to drive," Joe said but then added, "Fine; see if Biff can come while I check out what is left of dinner."

Joe entered the kitchen and pulled the lid off the bowl of leftovers. The sight of the cold pot roast and carrots made his stomach roll. He reached in and pulled out a can of ginger ale instead.

"Biff can go," Frank said as Joe came out of the kitchen. "We'll pick him up after you eat dinner."

"This is dinner," Joe said holding up his ginger ale. "Let's go."

Forty minutes later, Biff, Frank and Joe pulled up in front of the garage. The office was closed since it was around eight o'clock on a Saturday night.

"The van isn't out front," Joe said. "Pull around back. That's probably where he keeps the completed cars."

Frank wheeled his mom's car around towards the back of the lot looking among the closely crowded rows of cars for the van. Frank said, "Dad said he paid for it already, so it should be just fine to take it. Assuming we can actually find it back here. This place looks like a junk yard, used car lot and body shop all in one."

They located the van at the back of the lot near the fence and got out to inspect the handiwork. Overall, the van looked good; they always used this body shop for that reason.

"Biff can you drive our mom's car back to the house? You can follow Joe and me in case we have any trouble with the van," Frank said, not really wanting Joe out of his sight even if it was to ride with Biff. "Maybe we can go to Mr. Pizza after we drop off Mom's car, if Mom let's you," Frank said.

"She can't really expect me to stay home can she? It _is_ Saturday night," Joe said.

"And you _did _just get out of the hospital this morning. I will not incur the wrath of Mom for taking you out without checking with her first," Frank said.

A short while later they parked the car and van in the driveway. Joe had spent the entire way back checking over every inch of the van he could reach while strapped in the front passenger seat. Frank had to tell him no less than five times to back off and stay on the passenger side so he could drive.

Frank and Biff got out and headed towards the house. When Frank didn't hear Joe following, he glanced back at him. "Do you need any help getting out of the van, Joe?" Frank asked.

"No, I'll be inside in a minute. I just want to check the van over quickly," Joe said as he opened the garage door to pick up a flashlight. He really wanted to check under the hood.

Frank went inside to tell his mom that they were home with the van. "Can we go out to Mr. Pizza? Joe seems to be doing okay." he said.

"Where is Joe?" Laura asked, expecting to see him right behind Frank giving his best pleading look.

"He's in the van. He says he'll be in, in a few minutes," Frank said. As he waited for an answer, he walked back to the front door and glanced out the window to make sure Joe hadn't run into any trouble. He looked past the car in the driveway to the van. The door on the passenger side was open but he couldn't see Joe. A dark figure caught his eye moving quickly along the edge of the yard near the trees, illuminated only by the glow of the van's dome light, which went out right then.

To Laura's surprise Frank banged open the door and sprinted to the van. "Joe, are you okay?" he turned on the dome light again dreading, yet expecting, to see Joe laying there on the ground. He looked quickly around for his brother but found nothing. Biff who had been waiting in the living room ran out of the house and joined Frank. "I saw someone running that way," Frank said.

"Where's Joe?" Biff asked struggling to see through the shadows.

"I don't know. I saw someone at the edge of the yard. Let's start that way and see if we can get some answers out of him," Frank pointed towards the trees.

They took off without hesitation towards the edge of the yard and hit the sidewalk beyond it without breaking stride. The fallen leaves muffled their footsteps helping to give them the element of surprise. After they had been running for two blocks without catching sight of anyone, they reached the corner. Frank looked around the bend and caught a glimpse of someone running unevenly in the distance ahead of them. He quietly nudged Biff and they put on an extra burst of speed.

They person they were pursuing was drawing nearer quickly. Just as Biff put on the last burst of power and prepared to take the boy down, Frank recognized the uneven running gait of the boy and shouted, "No!"


	12. Chapter 12

Biff stopped mid-stride and stumbled. He came to a stop just short of the person he had almost tackled. The person stopped and swung around at the noise. Biff was surprised when he looked into Joe's face. "We've been chasing you? We thought someone grabbed you," Biff said.

"Went…t'get…flashlight. Came back…saw…someone…near…van," Joe was breathing heavily, almost gasping. "Went…that way…" Joe pointed towards the park at the end of the street. Then he bent over and put his hands on his knees for support. Joe's eyes were streaming and he quickly tried to swipe at them with his sleeve.

"Hey, take it easy," Frank interrupted. "Sit down on the curb for a minute. You need to catch your breath."

Joe ignored Frank and continued, "Couldn't … catch him. Keep…looking," he panted and started to limp in the direction he had pointed.

Frank closed the distance quickly and stopped Joe. "No Joe, we probably won't catch up with him now anyway. Sit down for a minute," he said, his brow creased with worry as he listened to Joe's labored breathing.

Joe finally relented and eased down onto the curb amidst the fallen leaves. His lungs were burning and he felt like he couldn't get enough oxygen.

"I'll go check it out," Biff volunteered seeing that Joe didn't want to let this go. He streaked off towards the park.

"Why…trouble…catching my…breath?" Joe asked.

"Well, first because you were supposed to be resting but instead you're out running sprints, second because you keep talking instead of breathing and third because of what the ammonia fumes did to your lungs. It just takes a little while to recover from that," Frank said as he placed a hand on Joe's back, subconsciously reassuring both of them.

Joe hated this feeling more than anything. He knew if he had been in better shape, then he would have been able to take that guy down a few blocks ago. As it was, he could hardly breathe. He tried to take a deep breath and started to cough. Spots danced in front of his eyes and he lowered his head towards his knees.

Biff came back then, "I couldn't find any sign of a person. It's pretty dark in the park though."

"Thanks…for…looking," Joe said punctuating each break with a cough.

Frank turned to Biff and asked, "Can you go back to the house and get the van and then pick us up?"

"Sure thing," Biff said and he was off in a flash.

"I can…walk…back," Joe said as he started to get up. Breathing was starting to get a little easier, but he could tell he might pay for that little run in more ways than one as the ache in his head started and he coughed again.

"No way baby brother; we'll wait. It will only take a few minutes," Frank said, putting a restraining hand on his shoulder and holding him down. Frank watched him carefully and wished there was something more tangible he could do to help Joe.

After a few minutes, Joe answered Frank's unvoiced question, "I'm okay…I can breathe better…now. Don't worry."

"Where you're concerned, I always worry. That's my job as a big brother," Frank said as they sat in the damp autumn leaves.

Biff showed up five minutes later with the van and Mr. Hardy, who would not accept the "Frank and Joe are both fine," that Biff tried to offer.

"Are you both okay?" Fenton asked quickly looking both of them over from head to toe. "Joe, you're flushed," he added as he saw the red hue of Joe's face illuminated by the head lights of the van.

"We're okay, Dad," Frank said as he carefully pulled Joe to his feet. "Joe found someone watching him as he was looking over the work on the van so he tried to chase him down, but we lost him."

Fenton shook his head slightly as he draped his arm carefully around Joe's shoulders and led him away from the other boys to the van. He said quietly, "What would you have done with him Joe if you had caught him? Don't you think he might have been able to overpower you? Even if he was a suspect, wait for backup next time."

"Sorry Dad," Joe said looking miserable. He knew it was stupid after he had gotten a block away, but he was never one to give up a good chase. "I should have thought about that," Joe answered as he climbed into the back of the van and leaned his head against the cool glass waiting for everyone else to get in.

Fenton climbed in beside him and said quietly, "I just don't want you to end up back in the hospital Joe," he said seriously, then added with a smile, "I don't think our insurance rates could take it at this point."

An hour later Frank and Joe were sitting alone at the kitchen table, having to content themselves with a snack from the kitchen rather than a trip to Mr. Pizza to which Laura had given a resounding "No!" once the boys came in and Fenton explained what had happened.

"Frank, this seems like one of those cases where the list of suspects is so short that it should be really easy to figure out," Joe said as he pulled more chips out of the bag and used them to scoop out mounds of French onion dip from the container.

"It's called 'dip' you know, not 'scoop'. Are you going to leave any for the rest of us?"

Joe gave him a scowl and continued eating.

"I know what you mean," Frank said. "Did you get a glimpse of the person you were chasing, anything that might help us?"

"Nothing useful really. I'm pretty sure he had on a Bayport High jacket, but it was dark and not very easy to tell. I don't think he was used to running, not really a trained athlete, but he wasn't in bad shape," Joe said. "If I had been in better shape, I could have nailed him and this case would be solved," Joe muttered and pushed the chips and an almost empty container of dip away.

"You're not out of shape Joe, you got hurt. You'll be back playing football and tackling suspects before you know it. Just give yourself a break," Frank said. "We have two weeks until the Southport game and I'm sure you'll be fine by then."

"You're right," Joe sighed.

"I know I am," Frank grinned, "I'm just glad you finally accepted it."

Joe chucked his balled up napkin at Frank.

"What was he doing when you spotted him?" Frank asked.

"Well, he was near the side door of the van. I think he was still hoping that the notebook was inside somewhere," Joe said. "I was in the garage for a few minutes hunting through the mess that Mom wants cleaned up looking for a flashlight. I don't think that he got very far in his search though."

"So we know he is still looking for the notebook and is willing to take risks in order to get it back," Frank said, "What else do we know? Oh, hold on I'm going to get a copy of what was written in the notebook."

A few minutes later, the boys were examining the text again.

"Well, it says 'It was supposed to be my part – not his' and it certainly didn't look like a girl I was chasing tonight, so we can probably rule out any girls," Joe said while stirring his chocolate milk. "See, I eliminated half the world's population as suspects, can you do better than that?" he said smiling at his brother.

"What would I do without you Joe?" Frank said distractedly still staring at the paper. "Well, we know revenge is the motive, he says so himself. And he also says rehearsals will be fun for him. Well, if the rehearsals are fun for him then it stands to reason that he is still part of the play in someway or has at least been around the rehearsals."

"That makes sense," Joe said. "Especially since he had to be there to knock the ladder over and knock me on the head."

"Well, that also means that Ryan, the only other person who didn't get the lead role is probably not who we are looking for. Have you seen him hanging around the rehearsals at all?" Frank asked.

Joe stared at the ceiling and after searching his memory, finally said, "No. I haven't seen him around at all after school. I just can't see him doing anything like this anyways. He is always helpful and…well just a nice guy."

"This is really strange when you look at it," Frank said. "If he really wanted the part, why didn't he audition for it like everyone else? At least then, he could have had a fair chance. Was anyone allowed to audition?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just signed up on the form and showed up at the scheduled time. I didn't have to do anything special," Joe said just as his cell phone rang on the table.

He picked up his phone quickly as smiled when he saw the name. "Hey Ness!" he said as he answered and went into the living room for a little privacy.

A few minutes later, Joe walked back into the kitchen to join his brother.

"What did Vanessa have to say?" Frank asked as he looked up from the paper he had been reading over and over.

"She told me that they scheduled another rehearsal for tomorrow since the one on Friday got cut short due to the ammonia spill. We need to go Frank. The play opens on Thursday night. We have no idea when this guy is going to put his plan in motion," Joe said his blue eyes flashing. "People are in danger."

"_You_ are in danger Joe. He is not going to let any loose ends remain and he seems to consider you and that notebook loose ends," Frank said. "We'll go, but you stick with me."


	13. Chapter 13

Frank woke up on Sunday morning to the sound of light rain falling through the leaves outside his bedroom window. He resisted the urge to burrow deeper into his blankets and hide there all day. If he didn't want to get up though, there was no chance that Joe would be eager to either.

After a few hours of homework in peace while he let Joe sleep, Frank finally heard Joe stirring. A few minutes later, Joe was blearily peering over Frank's shoulder. "What are you doing?" Joe mumbled.

"I'm finishing my homework. Last time I checked, it didn't finish itself," Frank said as he dug through his backpack.

"Oh man," Joe moaned. He hated homework and had managed to block it out of his mind completely this weekend but now all of his make-up work came rushing back to him and he sagged down on Frank's bed feeling overwhelmed.

"What's wrong?" Frank asked turning around and examining Joe closely.

"I just started thinking of all of that make-up work from Thursday that I still have to do and the homework from Friday," Joe said miserably. He silently berated himself for leaving the work when he could have done some on Thursday night or even yesterday.

"You'll get it all done," Frank said. "Why don't you bring it to the rehearsal today? We are just going to be observing and it will probably look less conspicuous if you say you're working on your homework while you're waiting for Vanessa to finish."

"That's true. I'm sure I can get some of it done there," Joe said feeling a bit better.

A few hours later, Joe, Frank and Callie were sitting in the auditorium seats with their homework spread across the desktops. They had told the few people who had asked that they were just waiting for Vanessa to finish so they could all go to a movie.

Joe stood up after completing one assignment and stretched his legs. He was a little cramped in the desks and it was making his bruised hip sore. "I'm going backstage to see how Ness is doing," he said. He was feeling jittery inside and it was too difficult to sit still right now.

"I'll come with you," Frank said immediately and started to get up.

"No. I'm fine. I am just going up those steps, and right behind the curtain. I'll be back in five minutes," Joe said, and then added with a smile, "Trust me."

"I always worry when you say that Joe," Frank said as he ran his hand through his hair. "If you're not back in five minutes then I will be running on stage to find you," Frank said.

Joe gave Frank a look and went backstage. He found Vanessa working on fixing one of the props for an upcoming scene. She looked up at him and said, "How's you homework coming?"

"Pretty good I think. I got the history assignment done. I'm just taking a break before I figure out what I have to do next," Joe said.

"Have you finished that assignment that we were assigned on Thursday? I worked on that all day yesterday," Alan said from behind Joe.

Joe turned around. "Hey Alan. What math assignment? I knew we had two pages of problems to do, is there something else?" Joe said his brow furrowing.

"Yeah, didn't you hear? We have to do the math lab that is discussed at the end of chapter three but you also need your math lab book to complete this. It's due tomorrow," Alan said.

"This stinks! I thought I was almost done. Man, I better go read that lab – and get my lab book. They never make those things easy either," Joe said feeling decidedly grumpy. Frank had picked up his homework for him, but missed this part. Joe made a mental note to tell Frank he needed to ask someone more reliable for the math homework next time. "Thanks for letting me know Alan, I would hate to turn it in late." Joe turned towards Vanessa and said, "I have to go look at this. See you in a bit."

Joe walked back into the auditorium just as he saw Frank look at his watch. "I'm here," Joe said. "You can stop worrying now. I was just talking to Alan and found out that I need another book to finish my math homework. I'm going to run to my locker and get it so I can finish."

"I thought I got everything. I'll go with you," Frank said and started to get up again.

"I am only going to my locker, and them I'm coming right back. And besides, all the suspects are in here. You need to keep an eye on them," Joe said. "I'll be back in five minutes."

Callie reached over and put her hand on Frank's arm, she knew he was anxious about Joe and his safety. "He'll be okay. He is only going to his locker. Give him a minute and he'll be back."

Two minutes later, a terrified voice came from the stage. "There's a fire – smoke coming from the science area! Hurry! This way!"

Frank looked up and saw Alan frantically run off the stage. The science area was at the opposite end of the school from Joe's locker, but had something or someone drawn him in that direction? Frank and Callie bolted from their seats and rushed with the rest of the cast and crew towards the science labs where they saw smoking billowing from one of the rooms.

"Someone call 911!" Frank shouted.

Alan turned towards him, "I'll go!" and he took off running down the hallway back towards the auditorium.

With Callie's help, Frank managed to bring some order to the group. Callie led all of the students outside the building so the area was evacuated. Frank was too concerned about the possibility that Joe was inside one of the rooms to leave or wait for the fire department to arrive.

He grabbed the fire extinguisher off the wall and opened the door of the lab. Smoke came billowing out causing tears to stream down his face. He was surprised though that he did not feel an increase in heat in the room, nor did he see flames.

Frank held the fire extinguisher at the ready and kept low trying to avoid the smoke. He peered around the lab tables and after only a few minutes, discovered that the billowing smoke was coming from the trash can in the far corner of the room. While suppressing a coughing fit, Frank used the fire extinguisher on the can though he hadn't seen any flames and thankfully the smoke stopped, though the room was still thick with it.

He quickly threw open the windows and continued scouting around on the floor for any sign of his brother. Satisfied Joe wasn't in there Frank left the room and sucked in the clean air. Man, he thought, I'm glad Joe wasn't in here. His lungs don't need this abuse. And as Frank started coughing in earnest, he thought, well neither do mine.

He headed off to find the others and make sure Joe had evacuated as well. As he started to pass the side door of the stage area though, he heard a crackling sound coming from behind the door. Frank approached it in an effort to identify the source. His stomach sank as he listened to the distinctive sound of fire, crackling and popping.

Frank grabbed the closest fire extinguisher and took one last deep breath before throwing the door open. He was immediately hit with intense heat and smoke.


	14. Chapter 14

Joe grumbled under his breath the entire way to his locker about stupid math lab assignments and teachers that give way too much work. As he rounded the corner, he saw his locker door pried open and the contents strewn on the floor.

"Damn it," he said as he stooped down to look at the door and the mess. He knew someone had taken a crow bar to the locker door to bend it like that. The lock had held so only the bottom of his locker was accessible. It looked like the person had pulled out everything they could reach through the gap in the door and left it on the floor.

Frank is really going to worry now, Joe thought as he looked at his math lab book in the jumble of books and notebooks on the floor. He'd let Frank look at the mess before picking up the book. Even if someone broke into his locker, he knew he still had homework to finish. Joe turned back towards the auditorium to get Frank. He had already been gone for a few minutes longer than he had said.

Joe approached the auditorium half expecting to run into Frank out looking for him. He pulled open the door and took a few steps in before he realized that he didn't see anyone. Just then, the lights went off completely.

He took a few steps back so that he was closer to the wall and started to edge towards the stage. It made him very uneasy that everyone was gone. Where were they?

Joe kept his back to the wall as he walked up the steps on the right of the stage. He still hadn't heard a sound, but he just knew that someone was out there. He cautiously peered into the orchestra pit to see if anyone was hiding there, but could tell by the faint glow of the emergency lights that it was empty. Looking across the dark stage, he decided the best approach was to stay close to the wings as they afforded some place to hide.

Joe was between the second and third curtains when he smelled it. Gasoline. He took a step closer to the open stage and almost slipped. Then he realized he was standing in it. A puddle of gasoline reached from the wings onto the stage. As he brushed into the curtain, he could feel wet spots on that as well, as if it had been splashed around.

"I know you're there Joe, come on out and join my play," said a calm voice which raised the hair on Joe's neck. "I know you don't care that you didn't get the part, but this is what I've worked for. I do care."

"Alan?" Joe said, finally placing the voice.

"None other. Alan Botts who wants to go to college to study drama. I've been in community theater productions, summer workshops, you name it. But can I get a part in the stupid school play?" his voice was becoming more frenetic as he spoke. Joe could hear more gas being sloshed on the floor of the stage.

"Alan, let's go talk about this, somewhere else. You can tell me what happened," Joe said calmly as he crinkled his nose against the gas fumes that were quickly becoming overwhelming.

"You're not leaving Joe, you've seen the proof that I planned this. But I found the notebook in your locker Joe. So with you and it gone, no one will know," Alan said as he tossed the notebook on the floor.

Joe finally found Alan's exact position when he heard the notebook splash into the gasoline. Joe knew that notebook must be the one he had lost a few weeks ago because his Dad had Alan's at home. Well there goes my party plans, he thought to himself as he positioned himself behind Alan. He was hoping Alan would continue talking so that he didn't give his position away.

"You can't get away Joe, you're right in the middle of it with me. If only that stupid drama teacher had not been so prejudice. It really wouldn't have come to this. I was the best person to play the supporting role, she even said it. But I don't 'look' right – she didn't care if the person could act, she only cared about the color of their skin. This is what I think of her play," he said as he grabbed the lighter out of his pocket.

Joe lunged for him then, still shocked at what Alan had said, but he had to stop him. No matter how wrong the teacher was, this was not right. Joe's feet slipped in the gasoline but he managed to hit him in the back with his good shoulder enough to knock him off balance. The lighter flew from Alan's hand and landed on the stage.

Alan swung around and threw a punch that glanced off Joe's jaw. He saw stars, but shook his head to clear it. He kicked out at Alan's legs and as Alan dropped to the floor, Joe took the second to get his arm out of the sling.

After Alan hit the floor he saw the glint of the lighter. Alan reached out and grabbed it and clicked it once which was just enough to create the one spark which started everything burning.

Joe had lunged at Alan to stop him but when he realized it was too late, Joe pulled him back away from the blaze. Before Joe could completely subdue him though, Alan slammed his fist straight into Joe shoulder sending pain shooting up his neck and down his arm and causing Joe to stagger back towards the flames.

"I'm sorry Joe. You have to die," Alan said as he rushed Joe again. Joe knew he had enough gasoline on him to burst into flames if he got any closer to the fire. He sidestepped Alan's next lunge, but had not seen in the dark and smoke filled auditorium that Alan had picked up a large board used as a prop. Alan swung the board so that it smacked Joe square in the chest. Joe stumbled backward right towards the flames unable to catch his breath or regain his balance.


	15. Chapter 15

Frank paused, momentarily stunned at the fire. Then he knew in his gut that Joe was in there, in danger. He slid through the doorway and stayed close to the cinderblock wall until he could see the center of the stage. At that moment, he managed to see his brother through the smoke fighting with someone, though he wasn't sure who. He moved closer to the pair and was able to identify the person as Alan by the flickering light of the blaze.

Before Frank could get close enough to intervene, Alan lunged towards Joe and then followed up with a hit to the chest with a board. Just as Joe was falling towards the flames, Frank bolted forward and yanked him back towards the wall, temporarily safe from the flames. Joe was gasping for breath and sagging against the wall as Frank turned back to face Alan placing himself between them.

Frank called out to Joe, "Get out of here if you can." He knew though there was little chance that Joe could walk out under his own power. Then he looked at Alan through the smoke and said, "No one hurts my brother and gets away with it Alan," Frank said his voice calm but menacing. He could see that Alan was getting more frantic as the seconds passed and the auditorium filled with flames and smoke.

"I will – not – get – caught," Alan said frantically grabbing another large board and charging Frank. Though his eyes were streaming and his lungs were burning, he saw the opening that he needed. His leg kicked out and cracked the board, causing Alan to stumble. Before Alan could get his balance, Frank pulled him closer and knocked him out with a right hook that would make Joe proud.

Alan collapsed unconscious on the floor. As Frank turned back to Joe, he was relieved to see firemen enter the stage door. He rushed to his brother who was conscious but coughing and gasping. "Be careful with…his right shoulder. Injured..." Frank said punctuated with coughs. The two firemen closest helped the brothers out through the door where medics were waiting.

Frank turned to the fireman that had just carried out Alan and said in a husky smoke-filled voice, "He's…arsonist." He would have to give more information later he knew, but at that moment it was all he could get out.

Joe was supported by the medic until they got him out of the auditorium and down on a stretcher. His mouth and nose were quickly covered with an oxygen mask. Frank had moved with Joe's stretcher towards the ambulance anxious to see how he was doing. As he got closer and tried to ask some questions though, he started what seemed like an endless coughing fit. He was quickly pushed onto a stretcher beside Joe and fitted with an oxygen mask as well.

Things were swimming in and out of focus for Joe and it was making him nauseous. The smoke and fumes from the gasoline were making him lightheaded and confused. He just couldn't figure out what those blue and red lights were that were going around and around, other than an annoyance. Joe just wanted to sleep, but he had to know if Frank was okay. Joe was sure he had seen his face above him just a minute ago, but he couldn't find him now. He reached his hand out and finally found Frank's hand. When he felt a squeeze back he relaxed against the stretcher and let the darkness take him.

Joe woke up much later when he heard soft talking but didn't even bother trying to open his eyes. He tried to talk but couldn't understand his own voice, that's when he realized he was in the hospital with an oxygen mask still covering his face. He cracked an eye and saw his parents hovering over his bed.

"Oh Joe," Laura exclaimed quietly. "Are you okay honey?"

Joe reached up slowly and pulled off the mask, "Frank?"

"Right here, Joe," came a hoarse voice from the next bed.

After a check from his doctor and a lesson in correctly using an inhaler, Joe explained to everyone Alan's motive.

"You mean that he did all this because he didn't get cast in the supporting role of the play?" Frank asked incredulously.

"It's amazing what people will do isn't it," Joe said. "But I can't believe that a teacher would be so prejudice towards Alan."

Fenton broke in then, "I don't condone in the slightest what Alan did, but I will be speaking with the principle regarding this teacher. That should not be going on in the school system…or anywhere for that matter."

"I agree, Dad," Joe said as he lay back on the pillow and closed his eyes.


	16. Epilogue

Three days later, Frank and Joe were sitting in the examination room in Dr. Bate's office. Joe received the okay to remove the sling. With that out of the way, the boys moved on to blowing into a machine that measured their lung capacity.

"See, I told you Joe that a few days with the inhaler would make a world of difference," the doctor said as he examined the results. "Joe, you can start with limited football practice and work up. You should be fine in time for the game. I think you two are all ready to go back to school. Do you think the school will be open tomorrow?"

"They are planning on being able to open the school tomorrow," Frank said, "but it will be a long time before we can use the auditorium again."

As the boys left the office, Joe said, "That just means that I have to get all my makeup work finished tonight. I've been working on the math lab work forever and I'm still not done. That reminds me, next time you get my makeup work, ask someone more reliable. You didn't even tell me I had this lab to do."

"Joe, I talked to your teacher – who is more reliable than that? She never said anything about a lab assignment. Who told you this?" Frank asked.

Joe thought for a second, "Alan…" and the realization finally hit him. "He lied to me!"

"He also tried to kill you," Frank said.

"Never mind that, he lied to me about homework! I've wasted three days off of school doing work that wasn't even assigned!" Joe practically shouted.

Frank just smiled and shook his head, "I can't believe you actually believed him."

"It must have been all the fumes doing things to my head," Joe said his face reddening slightly.

"I'm sure that was it Joe," Frank said with a smile.

Two weeks later, Frank saw Joe down the field and he knew Joe saw the opening too. He let the football leave his hands knowing it was heading directly where he wanted it to go. It was up to Joe now.

Joe saw it coming. He jumped into the pass, caught it and pulled it into his body. And then he took off for the end zone. He felt a pull on his shirt, but he put on an extra burst of speed and made it into the end zone just ahead of the other team. As the roar of the crowd drowned out all other noise, he chanced a look at the scoreboard seeing the six point lead with less than a minute left in the game. He smiled and thought, "Finally, things are going my way."


End file.
